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Republic of Ireland stunned World Cup champions Germany on Thursday to put themselves in good position to qualify for Euro 2016, while Northern Ireland and Portugal secured their places with wins. Germany still lead Group D by a point but their lead was trimmed after a 1-0 loss to Republic of Ireland in Dublin. Substitute Shane Long raced onto goalkeeper Darren Randolph's long ball and blasted a shot past Manuel Neuer for the only goal in the 70th minute. Also in Group D, Scotland's campaign ended after Poland equalised on the final kick of the game to ensure a 2-2 draw. Matt Ritchie scored with a 25-yard blast just before the break to cancel out Robert Lewandowski's opener, and Steven Fletcher found what appeared to be the winner in the second half. But Lewandowski continued his incredible run of form with his second goal deep into stoppage time to break Scottish hearts. A free kick trickled all the way through the Scottish defence and bounced out for Lewandowski to tap home. Germany lead Group D on 19 points, one ahead of Poland and Ireland on 18 points. The two sides meet on Tuesday in Poland to decide which team qualifies and which advances to the playoffs. A draw of 0-0 or 1-1 would see Poland through, while Ireland would advance with a higher-scoring draw. Both teams would qualify in the unlikely event that they draw while Germany lose at home to Georgia. That would send Germany to the playoffs. Northern Ireland qualified for the European Championships for the first time in their history with a 3-1 win over Greece on Thursday. Steven Davis opened the scoring on 35 minute with a left-footed shot, and Josh Magennis doubled the advantage four minutes after half-time with a header following a corner kick. Davis made it 3-0 with a header from the edge of the box just before the hour mark to send Windsor Park into jubilation. Also in Group F, Romania's campaign suffered a setback after a 1-1 draw at home against Finland. Joel Pohjanpalo gave the visitors the lead in the 67th minute but Ovidiu Hoban found an equaliser in stoppage time to end Finland's qualification hopes. Hungary needed to rally to find a winner at home against the Faroe Islands, winning 2-1 thanks to Daniel Bode's two second-half goals. Romania are in second place on 17 points, one ahead of Hungary for the final automatic qualifying spot. Portugal completed their qualification from Group I with a 1-0 win over Denmark. Joao Moutinho scored in the 67th minute to ensure Portugal will top their group with one game to play. Denmark can still qualify automatically should Albania drop points in their final game after they lost 2-0 at home to Serbia as Aleksandar Kolarov and Adem Ljajic both scored in stoppage time. The game featured heightened security after the reverse fixture was abandoned a year ago. Albania must win away to Armenia in their final fixture to qualify and send Denmark to the playoffs. Earlier on Thursday in Group D, Georgia defeated Gibraltar 4-0. Mate Vatsadze scored twice while Tornike Okriashvili added a penalty and Valeri Kazaishvili added a fourth goal late on.
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